Stacked article separator device



I. OPPENHEIM STACKED ARTICLE SEPARATOR DEVICE Dec. 27, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 25, 1966 FIG. 2

INVENTOR. IRVING OPPENHEIM BY K ATTORNEY Dec. 27, 1966 OPPENHEIM STACKED ARTICLE SEPARATOR DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 25, 1966 FIG. 6

FIG. 7

FIG. 8

INVENI'OR. IRVING OPPENI-IEIM ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,294,246 STACKED ARTICLE SEPARATOR DEVICE Irving Oppenheim, 17202 Stoepel Ave., Detroit, Mich. 48221 Filed Feb. 25, 1966, Ser. No. 530,036 8 Claims. (Cl. 21149) This application is a continuation-in-part of my earlier filed application Serial No. 422,942, filed January 4, 1965, for Article Separator Device, now abandoned.

This invention pertains to a stacked article separator device and more particularly to a device and a method of maintaining a stack of articles of clothing or other soft goods in a neat aligned relationship upon a table, shelf or platform, although members of the stack may be frequently withdrawn therefrom for inspection or other purposes, so as to leave the remaining members of the stack in a neat and orderly attitude.

An object of the invention is to facilitate the handling and merchandising of clothes in a store, particularly mens and boys trousers, shirts and other articles of sized clothing. At the present time this is done by folding a pair of trousers, as an example, once at the knee and placing it fiat upon a table. Additional folded pairs are placed on top of the first pair until a stack of twenty or so is formed. Although straight or circular racks of supporting bars are used for trousers, the most common method is to place them in piles upon a table.

The difliculty with such a stack is that it cannot be maintained in a neat and orderly attitude. Since the size, color, style and fabric of trousers often vary considerably in each stack, a pair of trousers may be selected for consideration and examination from any position in the stack, from top to bottom. While an experienced sales clerk can handle the withdrawal of trousers without undue disarray of the stack, a customer who gets his or'her hands on a pair of trousers intermediate the stack usually puts it into a mess. It then requires time in straightening and restacking, in order that trousers not become lost in a messy pile and in order to present them to the best possible effect and appearance.

By the device of this invention, a pair of trousers can be withdrawn from any position in a stack of such trousers in a very facile manner and without causing disarray in the stack. The invention involves the provision of brackets or posts secured to a table, shelf, platform or other supporting plane on either side of and adjacent to a stack of articles of clothing, such as mens or boys trousers, shirts, etc. Normally, such articles are piled one upon another in folded condition, i.e. the waists of the trousers are all at one end and the cuff ends of the trousers are at a position adjacent the waist with a fold substantially at the knee position of the trousers. Normally the knee fold is directed toward the salesman or the consumer considering the purchase of trousers, the waist and cuff ends being at a position remote from the observer. It is at this remote end adjacent the waist that the bracket members or posts are positioned. The device includes individual separators disposed between adjacent pairs of stacked trousers, so that the completed stack comprises a pair of folded trousers, a separator, another pair of folded trousers, another separator, and continuing in such alternating sequence to the top of the pile. The device alternatively also includes individual bags having an open end and into which the trousers, shirt or other article would be placed. The bag, in one form, is provided with laterally extending anchor members or positions at its closed end for engagement with posts or legs that restrain movement of the bag in the direction toward its open end. In another form, the bag is provided with a reinforced bottom edge of heavier paper, plastic or paperboard secured to the closed end of the bag and in 3,294,246 Patented Dec. 27, 1966 which end holes or slots are cut so as to engage one or more bag aligning bracket members. The bag would be made of paper, plastic or other suitable material and would enclose all of the article or alternatively all but a few inches of the article to be sold or displayed. The bag material could be arranged so that the upper facing portion could 'be made of a clear plastic or cellophane for better viewing of the enclosed article.

The individual separator leaf comprises a leaf member extending substantially to the lateral edges of the trousers, although the leaf may be slightly larger or smaller in lateral dimension, and substantially to the folded knee position of the trousers. At one end of the separator leaf a bar is disposed through a loop of the leaf so that projecting ends of the bar extend laterally of each side for a distance such that upon disposition of the leaf between the upstanding brackets or posts the lateral projecting ends of the bar will engage such brackets, or posts. As an alternative construction performing substantially the same function, instead of a bar, hook members can be secured at the corners of one end of the separator leaf to project laterally outwardly for engaging the brackets or posts.

The provision of separator leaves between soft goods such as trousers, shorts, shirts and other articles normally stacked upon shelves or platforms provides a means whereby intermediate or bottom members of the stack can be removed without difficulty and without disturbing the order and alignment of the superposed members of the stack. Such separator leaf can be made of woven or unwoven fabric material or plastic sheeting.

The individual bags perform substantially the same functions as do the individual separator leaves, with the additional advantage that the bag can be removed and used as the container for the article displayed or contained therein. The bags, which may be arranged with end holes or slots, can alternatively be arranged with extension members or laterally projecting members at the closed end of the bag, which members engage the bag aligning brackets.

The articles of clothingtrousers, shirts, shorts, pajamas, etc.may be stacked in a pile to any suitable height. When a customer wishes to examine an article, he simply goes to the pile containing his size and by leafing through the exposed visible ends of the articles can make his selection of the color, pattern and fabric desired.

If he wishes a closer examination or wants to try the article on for fit, a slight pull on the exposed end or the end visible or at the open end of the bag will allow the article to be easily slid out of the bag without disturbing or disrupting the rest of the stack or pile. If it is not to his liking, he can simply place it on top of the pile and look further. Later, a clerk can rebag the exposed article and place it neatly with the rest of the stack, saving himself the extra time presently required for straightening out a messy pile of trousers, shirts or other stacked articles.

Also, if desired, the customer (or clerk) can by a slight pull on the bag remove both the bag and its contained article from the stack so that the packaged item can be taken as is to a cashier for payment.

The article separating bag will work equally well with prepackaged goods such as plastic covered shirts and shorts, as with folded items like sport shirts or pajamas.

It is an object of the invention to provide a simple but effective means for maintaining stacked articles of clothing or other soft goods in a neat orderly alignment although intermediate or bottom members of the stack are removed from the stack. Another object is to provide separator bags or leaves of relatively flexible material for disposition intermediate adjacent articles arranged in a stack or pile. Still another object is to provide separator leaves or bags having laterally projecting portions designed to engage upstanding brackets or posts restricting movement of the separator leaf or bag in the direction in which articles are removed from the stack. Yet another object is to provide a device for maintaining stacked articles of soft goods in a neat orderly alignment although articles are removed from such stack, with minimum effort in the maintenance of such order and alignment.

These and other objects of the invention and features of construction will become more clearly apparent from the description given below in which the terms employed are used for purposes of description and not of limitation. Reference is made to the drawings annexed hereto and made an integral part of this specification, and in which FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a device embodying the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 showing how an article intermediately positioned in a stack of such articles can be removed without disturbing the stack above or below.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a corner of the device shown in FIGURE 1, illustrating one form of a separator leaf construction.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a modification of the device illustrated in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a corner of the device illustrated in FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of a stack of bag-inserted articles of clothing, illustrating one of the bag constructions and its association with the alignment posts of a bracket.

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to that in FIGURE 6 but showing another bag construction and post association.

FIGURE 8 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 88 of FIGURE 6.

As shown in the several views of the drawing and particularly in FIGURES 1, 2, and 3, the stack maintaining device 10 comprises a pair of posts 12, 12 disposed on each side of a stack 14 of articles of clothing or soft goods, such as trousers 16, with a separator leaf 18 disposed between each pair of trousers 16 in the stack.

The stack 14 is usually formed by placing an article 16 such as a pair of trousers on a table 20 or other platform, so that the waist end is away and the cuff ends are on top and adjacent to the waist, a fold forming about at the knee position, and piling additional pairs of such folded trousers one above the other to the desired height.

The posts 12 arranged in the upstanding substantially vertical attitude terminate at their lower ends, in flanges 26, which are affixed to the table 20 on each side of the stack 14 adjacent the waist end of the trousers 16 by screws 32.

A separator leaf 18 is disposed between adjacent pairs of trousers 16, and comprises a leaf body 40 having a loop 42 at one end formed by folding an edge portion of the body over and securing it thereto by sewing or other suitable means, and a retaining bar 44 passed through the loop with anchor portions 46, 46 extending from either side of the loop to a distance such that the anchor portions engage the posts 12 when the leaf body is disposed therebetween.

A slight modification of the device is illustrated in FIG- URES 4 and 5, in which the retaining bracket 50 comprises a pair of posts 52, 52 connected together by an intermediate web portion 54. The posts have bent ends 56 which are secured to the table 20 by screws or other suitable fasteners.

The separator leaf 60 in FIGURES 4 and 5, instead of having a retainer bar, is provided with a pair of hooks 62, 62 one at each corner of the leaf body 64 adjacent the posts 52, 52. The hooks are formed with eyes 66 secured by grommets 68 within the fold 70 at the edge 72 of the leaf body. The hooks 62 may rotate on their 4 fasteners, or they may be fixed against rotation by such fasteners.

It is preferred that the separator leaves 18 or 60 be formed of a film material such as paper, plastic or similar sheet material which is normally substantially smooth surfaced and wrinkle-free. It may be desirable in some instances to treat the separator leaf material with a chemical or adhere a film material which will make it surface smooth and wrinkle-free. The separator leaves can also be fabricated from two layers of fabric sewn together at their edges and containing a stiffening sheet of cardboard or other suitable material therebetween. In any such separator, the transverse retaining bar 44 or hooks 62, 62 can be attached in the manner described.

Another modification of the invention is that illustrated in FIGURES 6, 7 and 8 in which the separator leaves comprise bags of paper, plastic, or combinations of such film materials.

A bag (FIGURE 6) is provided with a body 82, a closed end 84 to which a stiffening rib or piece 86 of paperboard or plastic is secured, the rib 86 having postengaging members or anchor portions 88, 88 extending beyond the lateral edges 90 of the body, and edges 92, 94 at the open end 96 of the bag. The anchor portions 88, 88 are arranged to engage the posts 24 positioned at each side of the separator bag.

A modification of this bag arrangement is illustrated in FIGURE 7, wherein the closed end 84 of bag 80 is provided with a pair of notched openings 98, 98 so arranged that they accommodate the posts 24, 24 which are now spaced apart at a distance less than the width of the bag body 82 at its closed end 84. Normally, such closed end is formed by folding the body back over itself and securing the layers of the fold adhesively together, or alternatively securing the layers of the body with an adhesive without folding. To provide greater resistance to removal from a stacked post-held position, if desired or required, another layer of a relatively stiff piece of paperboard or plastic can be secured at the closed end at and about each of the openings 98, 98 to serve somewhat as notched grommets. Alternatively, the stiffening member may extend entirely across the closed end.

In operation, the articles 16 are piled one upon the other into a neat stack 14 with a separator leaf 18 or 60 between each pair. The retaining bars 44 or hooks 62 are disposed behind the brackets 12 or posts 52. To maintain the stack in order and alignment, one simply grasps the article, such as a pair of trousers, desired and pulls it from the stack. Because the trousers are separated by leaves, the adjacent trousers above and below the selected one are not disturbed or misaligned. If these trousers are not purchased, one of the previously adjacent separator leaves is removed from behind the brackets and placed upon the topmost pair of trousers, and the non-selected pair of trousers again placed on such separator leaf in alignment with the stack. The stack 14 is rebuilt with additional trousers in the same manner, by alternating a separator leaf with a pair of trousers to the top of the pile.

Operation with the separator bags 80 is substantially the same as with the separator leaves 18 or 60. The additional advantages with the bags 80 include the facile removal of the article from within a bag which surrounds the lateral and rear edges of the article, and that the bag can also be used as a container for the article when purchased. Where bags are used for separation of the articles, two layers of paper, plastic or other suitable bag body film material is disposed between the articles. The device will work equally well with pre-packaged articles.

The importance and advantages of the invention to merchants includes a substantial savings in housekeeping costs, improved sales because of the ease in locating sizes and colors in neat orderly piles of stock with a minimum of effort, the merchandise would stay neat and clean so that markdowns due to soiled and shop-worn articles would be held to a minimum, the device is inexpensive to install, and a neat orderly store or department appearance would be much more inviting to the public.

Having described the invention in its simplest terms, it

is to be understood that the features of the construction and mehod may be changed and varied in greater or lesser degree without departing from the essence of the invention defined in the appended claims.

Iclaim: 1. In a device for maintaining the alignment of soft goods articles arranged in a stack though intermediate members of said stack are removed therefrom comprising a surface for supporting a stack of articles, upstanding spaced apart posts secured to said surface at one end of and adjacent each side of a stack, and a. plurality of relatively flexible separators in sheet form for separating each of the articles one from the other,

each of said separators having a body adapted to be disposed between adjacent articles of the stack and means secured to and at one end of said body adapted to engage and to move freely from and relative to said upstanding posts so as to restrict movement of said separator in the direction of the stack when an article is removed from the stack. 4 2. The device defined in claim 1, wherein, each of said separators has a relatively smooth outer surface,

said separator body extending laterally at least the width of and longitudinally substantially the length of articles as stacked. 3. The structure defined in claim 1, and in which said means comprises a member having portions extending beyond the lateral edges of said body and beyond the open distance between said upstanding posts. 4. The structure defined in claim 1, and in which said means comprises a pair of hook members each secured to said separator body and adapted to extend laterally therefrom and beyond the open distance between said upstanding posts. 5. The device defined in claim 1, wherein each said separator comprises a single layer of substantially smooth-surfaced film materal. 6. The device defined in claim 1, wherein each said separator comprises a double layer of substantially smooth-surfaced film material formed into a bag,

one end of said bag being closed, the other end of said bag being open for admission thereinto and withdrawal therefrom of one or more articles. 7. The device defined in claim 6, wherein said closed end has said means secured thereto for engaging said upstanding posts. 8. The device defined in said claim 6, wherein said closed end is provided with said means therein for engaging said upstanding posts.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 397,750 2/ 1889 Phinney 211-49 1,000,896 8/1911 Cohen 21149 1,028,590 6/1912 Morgan 248248 1,061,625 5/1913 Morrison 21149 1,472,599 10/1923 Kirsch 248-308 1,765,043 6/1930 White 21149 2,917,180 12/1959 Snyder 211-4 9 References Cited by the Applicant UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,083,763 1/ 1914 Smedberg.

1,784,496 12/1930 Rodstein et a1. 2,274,165 2/1942 Ritzau.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A DEVICE FOR MAINTAINING THE ALIGNMENT OF SOFT GOODS ARTICLES ARRANGED IN A STACK THOUGH INTERMEDIATE MEMBERS OF SAID STACK ARE REMOVED THEREFROM COMPRISING A SURFACE FOR SUPPORTING A STACK OF ARTICLES, UPSTANDING SPACED APART POSTS SECURED TO SAID SURFACE AT ONE END OF AND ADJACENT EACH SIDE OF A STACK, AND A PLURALITY OF RELATIVELY FLEXIBLE SEPARATORS IN SHEET FORM FOR SEPARATING EACH OF THE ARTICLES ONE FROM THE OTHER, EACH OF SAID SEPARATORS HAVING A BODY ADAPTED TO BE DISPOSED BETWEEN ADJACENT ARTICLES OF THE STACK AND MEANS SECURED TO AND AT ONE END OF SAID BODY ADAPTED TO ENGAGE AND TO MOVE FREELY FROM AND RELATIVE TO SAID UPSTANDING POSTS SO AS TO RESTRICT MOVEMENT OF SAID SEPARATOR IN THE DIRECTION OF THE STACK WHEN AN ARTICLE IS REMOVED FROM THE STACK. 